Search - 2020

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2015

Marubeni faces ship shortage, grid issues in offshore wind push

Marubeni Corp. is planning to develop more than five times the offshore wind power capacity currently installed in Japan as it moves aggressively into a poorly developed area of the country's renewable energy market.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 28, 2015

Omotenashi — Japanese hospitality?

As the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee's appointed "Cool Tokyo" ambassador, multilingual television journalist Christel Takigawa set media buzzing worldwide with her Sept. 7, 2013, speech to the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires in which she made great play of the word "motenashi" by attaching...
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2015

A realistic view of honest folks

Police say Tokyo residents handed in ¥3.34 billion in lost cash last year, clear evidence that Tokyo's reputation for safety remains intact. Yet, nationwide losses from phone scams are on track to suprass the 2013 records.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 23, 2015

Pusses galore: Cats dominate the pet industry

Though cats are cheaper than dogs to acquire, you may end up spending more money on them.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2015

Value of new shinkansen services

The government needs to clearly explain how and whether its plan to move up the schedules for completing unfinished sections of shinkansen networks in Hokkaido, Kyushu and Hokuriku regions will bring benefits that outweigh the additional expenses to taxpayers.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2015

Japanese support for the AEC

Japan should throw its support behind the regional plan to establish the ASEAN Economic Community by yearend, thus creating a single market and production base of more than 600 million people.
WORLD
Feb 19, 2015

F-22's belated debut against Islamic State praised by commander

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-22 fighter jet, making its debut in warfare more than nine years after it was deemed combat-ready, has flown at least 112 missions against Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. Air Force's commander of combat forces said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 17, 2015

China's defense budget expected to defy economic lilt

President Xi Jinping is expected to authorize robust defense spending for this year despite China's slowing economy, determined to strengthen the country's armed capabilities amid growing unease in Beijing at Washington's renewed focus on Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 14, 2015

Japanese are quick to embrace robots

"Hello and welcome. I can tell you about money exchange, ATMs, opening a bank account or overseas remittance. Which one would you like?"
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2015

Global economy's Chinese headwinds

Last year, interest rates were supposed to start rising in the U.S. and U.K. and quantitative easing would deliver increased inflation in Japan. Twelve months later, economic headwinds from China are a major reason why normality seems as distant as ever.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 13, 2015

Vintners see bright future for Koshu wine

Making wine comes naturally to Ayana Misawa, having spent her childhood in vineyards watching her father and grandfather nurture cherished Koshu grapes, a variety known for its fresh and fruity overtones.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 12, 2015

Abe sidesteps expanded SDF role in Diet policy speech

Delivering a key policy speech at the Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his determination Thursday to push for economic reforms but avoided touching the most controversial issue expected at this year's ordinary Diet session: security bills to expand the scope of Self-Defense Forces missions....
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2015

Author Sono calls for racial segregation in op-ed piece

A prominent author and former government adviser calls for Japan to adopt a system to force immigrants to live separately from Japanese in zones based on race.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 11, 2015

No-frills dramatist casts Japan in a different light

The title of Yudai Kamisato's new work "+51 Aviacíon, San Borja" references his grandmother's address in Lima and the international telephone dialling code of Peru — but that only hints at the unusually cosmopolitan background of this 32-year-old Japanese playwright and director who also has relatives...
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 11, 2015

U.S. looking to bolster naval presence in Australia: official

The U.S. is in talks with Australia about "basing" navy vessels in facilities on the shores of its main South Pacific ally, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said, a move that would risk inflaming tensions with China.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2015

Wrong way to import workers

If Japan needs foreign workers to fill its manpower needs, the government should consider a new system of accepting such labor on a longer-term basis rather than under the guise of an technical internship program.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2015

China's looming G-20 moment

Chinese President Xi Jinping certainly will not pass up the chance to ensure that the G-20 agenda serves China's interests next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2015

Ishiba tells rural communities to compete or lose funding

The Abe administration's czar for regional regeneration believes it is a case of sink or swim: Enterprising communities will maintain their grip on state funding and flourish, and stragglers will be cut loose.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 10, 2015

Robots and foreigners are the answer as Japan's population ages, says investor Sawakami

As Japan's population ages and slowly declines, bring in the robots and foreigners.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan